Leon Edwards Eyes 'Champ-Champ' Status After UFC 296 Return vs. Colby Covington

UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards isn’t looking past Colby Covington, but he wants to etch his name into the history books.

Edwards will face Covington in the UFC 296 headliner on December 16th in Las Vegas. He returns after back-to-back title fight wins over Kamaru Usman, including a majority decision win at UFC 286.

Edwards has cemented himself as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world after his recent performances. Overall, he’s unblemished through his last 12 fights and has become an international UFC star.

The pursuit of UFC titles in multiple divisions has become a trend ever since Conor McGregor did it earlier in his career. Like McGregor, Edwards wants to add his name to the list of two-division champions, especially after Alex Pereira’s UFC 295 win.

Related: Jéssica Andrade Names Desired Return Date After UFC 295 Win, Assesses Likely Path Back To The Title

Leon Edwards Targets Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis Winner

During a recent interview with Sky Sports, Edwards was asked about a potential move to middleweight after UFC 296.

“100%, I feel especially with someone like Strickland and [Dricus Du Plessis]…Any of them two would be great to fight,” Edwards explained.

“I’m big myself…I feel like that would be perfect. I feel like me going out there being double champ, first ever from the UK to do it. That’s definitely one of my goals, so that’s on the cards for sure.”

‘I want to be the first UK double champ!’ 👊

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards wants to move up to middleweight and become the first champ-champ from the UK at UFC 300! 💪 pic.twitter.com/uUZ2JESsJQ

— Sky Sports (@SkySports) November 13, 2023

Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis will fight at UFC 297 in January. Strickland earned the UFC’s middleweight title by defeating Israel Adesanya earlier this year at UFC 293.

Pereira became the ninth two-division champion in UFC history by defeating Jiří Procházka on Saturday. Edwards, along with UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev, is a solid candidate to become the tenth.

2024 figures to be another massive year of UFC fights, and if Edwards’ plans are any indication, we could see another championship superfight soon.

Related: UFC Schedule: Updated List Of Upcoming Events & Fight Cards

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